Tues. July 2, 2024: Neptune Joins the Retrograde Parade & June Numbers
image courtesy of WikiImages via pixabay.comTuesday, July 2, 2024
Waning Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune Retrograde
Sunny and warm
Hello! I hope you had a good weekend. Here in the US, we’re in a holiday week, with July 4 falling on Thursday this week. Many places are taking off Thursday through Monday. I will probably just take Thursday off. Too much going on in my July.
Saturn went retrograde on Saturday. Life lessons, baby, from now until November. It’s gone retrograde in Pisces, so there’s a lot of assessment going on, especially for those of us under that sign. Neptune goes retrograde today. Neptune is going retrograde in Pisces, and will be retrograde until early December. It’s already the planet of dreams and spirituality, so when it goes retrograde in the sign of dreams, it’s about dealing with confusion, perceptions, and forcing you to face facts so you can grow. It’s about inner work and self-reflection that can then be applied to outward facing action. Untangling what is real and what is self-deception can be difficult.
So I’m glad I had a whole lotta meetings about figuring out a work plan BEFORE this all went down! 
Progress might be slower than I’d like over the next few months, but at least I’ve positioned myself to do the work, instead of wondering what work to do, and possibly spending the next few months going down the wrong path.
I think one of the things we often forget, when we’re caught up in retrogrades, is keeping a sense of humor. So one of my goals during the retrogrades is to find the funny in them. I am sure I will be severely taxed about this during the August Mercury retrograde, but we’ll give it a shot.
The plan for August is to keep my mouth shut, head down working, and nap as much as possible.
My friend Diane totally nailed the biggest portion of the sense memory stress issue last week, how it’s tied to the storage unit I still have down on Cape. I’m working on putting together the finances to move it all up. The same size storage unit up here is half the price of down there (especially since they just raised the fees). I still need to put together at least a few grand to get it moved up here (which will take a minute – yes, that’s sarcasm – since I have other expenses in the next couple of months that take priority). But once I do that, I think stresses across multiple fronts will ease, especially around this time of year.
A large group of scripts landed in my queue for the weekend. Even though part of me grumbled about working on the weekend, since I had a few days of light or no coverage earlier in the week, and this coming week was going to be a little wacky, I figured I should take on as much work as I could.
Friday morning, I got out a play submission, and started working on one of the short stories which has been percolating. It starts with a much brighter, snarkier voice than I expected, just before it turns dark. I got a few hundred words done on it, before I had to go off and take care of errands.
Errands were fine: library, Big Y, CVS. On the way home, on a whim, I stopped at a favorite vintage store and found a few things, total $10. Yes, that was in the budget! I also picked up, at a different store, the large sketchpad I need for the Farmers’ Market Residency day. I will print, in large, dark letters, the prompts and paste them onto the sketchpad, and then I can flip to the prompt we’re using.
I’m figuring out the handouts – what it’s about, some resources for writing books, and a flyer with my own work, so I can print them next weekend and have them ready to go. I’ll also have a mailing list signup at the table. I’m going to print up some fun quotes and paste them on cardboard and post them around the tent. I have to plan it this weekend, so I can print/paste everything next weekend, and then it’s all ready to go before the NY trip, and I don’t have to worry when I get back. I will have any materials for ekphrastic prompts ready to go in a crate and everything packed early.
There was a music festival at MASSMoCA over the weekend, so all parking lots by Friday were paid lots with attendants. If you’re going to something, like yoga, you tell the attendant so you don’t have to pay. Even all the way out at the Ocean State lot it’s overflow parking for the festival.
Came home, unpacked everything, hung out for a bit, had lunch, and buckled down to script coverage.
Turned around four coverages, and was exhausted. Cooked dinner – haddock, the last of the collards, the last of the dill. Very good.
Starting reading the first book for review, which is quite good.
Enjoyed the long, soft light into the evening, since that is shortening. By Lammas, we’ll really notice it.
Slept pretty well, although I woke up once around 1 AM with some sense memory stress. But I got myself back to sleep. Now through July 5th is when I was going back and forth, trying to clean out the house, and putting too much in the dumpster. The heat and humidity were awful then; at least this year is much better. And I’m working on moving forward, doing other work, and layering positive memories over this time, so it’s not just all about remembered stress.
I finished the draft of the short story “The Bride De-Faced” which came in a little over 2200 words. There’s some dark humor early on, and then it goes darker and darker, but ends on a hopeful but ambiguous note. It felt good to get it done, even knowing it needed a few revision passes before it could go out the door.
I started percolating the next story that needs to be finished. It was percolating further back in my brain, but now needed to move forward. That can only be 1K, so I suspect there will be cutting involved after the first draft.
I pulled myself together and headed out to the Clark. The workshop was moved indoors, due to rain. We had a nice turnout, about 20 people, almost half from tarot circle. We worked with red clover, red raspberry leaf, rosehip, and mugwort, which was wonderful.
Came home, navigating through the music festival and farmers’ market traffic.
After lunch, I did a rewrite of “The Bride De-Faced” which made me feel like I moved in the right direction.
I then turned around 8 script coverages: 2 medium and 6 small. Making up for the days without coverage earlier in the week.
Finished the first book for review.
Tessa and Charlotte got me out of bed before 5 on Sunday. I got some planning work done, and then turned my attention to a rewrite of “The Bride De-Faced.” It was where I wanted it, and I got it out the door on submission. It’s paranormal/borderline horror.
That’s two of the six stories aimed at anthologies that need to go out between now and October that made it out the door on time.
Did the mid-year check-in post for the GDR site. If you didn’t see it yesterday, you can find it here. I’m pretty content with where I am, and the work I’ve been doing. Prepped and scheduled some posts for the week I’m in NY.
Got all of that done before 9 AM!
Turned around three script coverages before the pay period closed on Sunday. I’m still under where I wanted to be, but above where I was a few days ago.
Read the second book for review.
Tired, but did some other reading in the evening.
We had a big thunderstorm with torrential rain in the afternoon. The music festival had to suspend for a bit (it’s outside) and get people into shelter. Once it passed, the festival resumed.
Glad I was home, not there. Although, with the COVID numbers back up again, I’m still staying away from most crowd situations, even when masking.
Slept pretty well, although busy on the Dreamscape. Did some ancestor work in the morning. Found it a little confusing, but I’m sure it will make more sense as I do the month’s work.
Wrote a good bit of the next story in my head. Let’s hope, when I put it on the page, I can keep it within wordcount!
Let’s talk numbers for June, shall we? These were mine:
New Material: 46,244
Edits: 44,905
Adaptation: 49.301
Client Work: 23,209
Marketing: 2 hours
Professional Development: 14 hours
What do they mean, when we analyze them?
The new material was a bit low, which was a shock, since I got two short stories and three plays out the door, and most of it was new work. But it was short new work. When analyzed through the lens of the edit and adaptation work, it makes sense. And the adaptation work doesn’t go on forever, just until I get serial stuff adapted to the new formats.
Client work was pretty good on the word count front, but I’m feeling underpaid again. I think, over the next few months, I will need to take on more and feel overworked and underpaid as I shift from a couple of clients to other clients that pay better.
Marketing was pathetic. I have to do better. I will, with the strategies created in the various workshops.
I spent more time than usual on professional development, taking workshops, doing homework, and having sessions with mentors. That’s all a good thing, and will help with the rest of it in the coming months.
I think I will have to make an Excel sheet (blech) to track the numbers over the entire year. But, by the end of the year, I want to see the trajectories, where I have shifted, and it worked (or didn’t) and where I need to shift going into 2025.
I went ahead and did that (it didn’t take long). That was rather eye-opening. Word count is definitely down without the weekly serial deadlines. Of course, the adaptation count is up, for the moment. Client work took a leap, and then has been fairly steady. Now it’s time for it to take another leap, at least as far as payment.
I went back and added in professional development work, and I’m pleasantly surprised how much I’ve done during the Capacity Building Program (which is part of why it exists). As I told my cohort manager the other day, when she told me she admires how much I’m doing in the program, I am carpe-ing the f!ck of out of my A4A diem. They accepted me into the program and gave me this amazing opportunity. I’d be a fool not to learn everything I could while I have access to these resources.
I got about half of the draft of “Ancestor Treasure” written, then hopped over to the post office to mail a few things.
Because I worked through the weekend, my brain wanted to take a few days off, but that is not an option.
I wrote the two reviews, sent them in, and got my next two books assigned. I will turn them around this weekend.
The first two hours of the afternoon were the first of a four-part workshop on Finances for Artists, again, through the cohort. One of the workshop leaders (who runs a dance company) ZOOMed in from Morocco, where she is on a family vacation. The other, an actor, ZOOMed from his temporary home while he’s in a production of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR in Pennsylvania.
I took a lot of notes and learned a lot. It was kind of emotional for me, and I realized this was the first safe, no-shame space I’d probably EVER been in to talk about financial details.
There was a lot of talk about how our situation changes, moment to moment, and we were urged to think about what financial goals make us feel secure, and then we can start to work toward them incrementally. They suggested we think of it as a dance on the spectrum, rather than climbing a ladder (or falling off it – or dangling by a frayed rope, which is what I’ve felt too often). And there was a lot of talk about liquid vs. il-liquid assets. Fear of the unknown tends to make me want to keep as much liquid as possible, but the il-liquid assets are what will grow the security.
Again, this workshop is very much a way to help me move out of mere survival mode (in which I’ve been far too long) into something more sustainable in the long-term. I’ve been just trying to make do for so long that I need to explore doing better, and it’s not in the typical way of “get a 9-5 with benefits and sock away some cash” because for artists, it works differently.
Being in a shame-free space also gave me the freedom to get curious about aspects of finances that have been intimidating.
Two of the people with whom I’ve taken workshops were there as fellow attendees, so it was fun to be in session with them as peers, too.
It’s fascinating how all these workshops fit together to help me see and set a bigger picture and make a plan.
It was a lot to take in. We have homework before Wednesday’s session, which I started on. Then I switched over and turned around a script coverage (I’d opted to take on only one today, and I’m glad I did).
If I start talking about the awful SCOTUS decision, I will turn into a rage monster, so all I will say is we’ve got a lot of work to do between now and November, or this WILL be the last election we have for decades.
Woke up at 2:30 this morning in an absolute panic, thinking I was back in the empty house on Cape with clearing out to deal with. Charlotte did her best to calm me down. Tessa wandered in, and was like, “Well, since you’re up, you might as well feed us.” I held out until nearly 5 AM.
Was out the door fairly early and to the laundromat. It was a busy place this morning, but I was in and out by 7 AM, and back to start my day.
I managed to finish this round of edits on “Too Much Mistletoe” and start “Tumble” while I was there, too.
On today’s agenda: Some personal things that need attention, writing, adaptation work, two scripts to turn around, only one hour of yoga tonight, because I have stuff to deal with around my show. I’m hoping to do some more work on the first month of Cerridwen Iris Shea posts, so I have them ready for the launch on Friday, and maybe do some work on an article and work on my handouts for the Farmers’ Market artist in residency day.
Have a good one!
